The Strelets Royal Horse Grenadiers is a good set, and the only figure I felt I could not use was the chap firing his pistol off to the side. Quite why Strelets included this pose in a set with entirely moving horses I don't know; a pose looking forward with pistol held upright would be as easy to mould and would be more useful. The horses in my Horse Grenadiers box were OK quality-wise, but I have had some other boxes with the generic WoSS horses where there has been some plastic spalling and also a few horses where the mould has been incomplete. I find that a hot modelling knife and a little gentle welding solves the spalling problem, and some filler (eg: Miliput) solves the incomplete moulding issue, but I don't think that Strelets themselves know quite why this is afflicting just a few of the WoSS horses. It's a relatively minor problem though.
The blue I used for their coats is Tamiya Flat Blue (XF-8). I like this colour, despite the problems with Tamiya acrylics, notably that they dry too fast and tend to be quite dark. However, this XF-8 blue seems to me to be about right as a French blue. For the tones, a little added black for shaded areas and a little pale blue for the highlights.
One or two of the sabres are on the short side, and the sabre of the Grenadier in the centre of the photo below is a replacement blade made of flattened wire and fitted into a drilled hole in the hilt/hand. glued in with a dab of 5 minute epoxy.
As for the scarlett-coated Gendarmes and Chevauxlegers, these are a Vallejo Flat red base with Scarlett highlights, and lots of gold lace. All very bright.
But these three units only constituted three (admittedly large) squadrons of the French cavalry force. There remains a need for line cavalry and line dragoons, and Strelets will at least (hopefully) be providing the latter, and also the remaining Maison du Roi cavalry, in their forthcoming summer releases.
Well done they are all a pleasing splendid sight. BB
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